Be a Rockstar at Your Next Meeting: 6 Ways to Prepare and Own the Room
Raise your hand. Take the floor. Rewrite the rules.
Welcome to Own Your Ambition, the weekly newsletter designed to give professional women the tools they need to be successful. As a former CEO who made it to the C Suite from an entry level, I know first hand what it takes for women to realize their ambition and reach their career goals.
If you’ve ever left a meeting frustrated that your ideas were overlooked, your contributions not acknowledged, you felt invisible, you’re not imagining it. Meetings remain one of the most gender biased spaces in the workplace.
My newsletter this week gives you a tactical plan to show up, speak up, and showcase your reputation, competence and influence.
Because….too often, the most competent woman in the room isn’t the one who gets heard. It’s the one who shows her leadership.
Be that woman!
Early in my career, I was hired by a former boss from another company as a regional sales manager for a national healthcare staffing company. I was certainly qualified for the job with a track record of increasing revenue growth at previous companies. But the young CEO was new to his role, trying to prove himself, and tasked with growing the company. Under the microscope to meet certain goals, he asked my boss, who then asked me, to think about how we might accomplish that and how to structure and build a new national sales force. A meeting was called with the executive team and I was on the agenda to present my plan. I was also the new comer to the table, having recently started in this role.
I approached it strategically. I prepared my power point presentation, printed copies for all, and rehearsed my pitch. I knew who would be present, their roles and responsibilities. I calculated how my ideas would benefit them in those positions. I wrote out what would be possible objections and my responses. I knew the agenda. And I learned when I would be asked to speak, who was before me, who would follow me. And probably most important of all, I got there early and positioned myself in the spotlight directly across from the CEO. The presentation went well. I was immediately promoted to VP of Sales.
Meetings are where reputations are built or diminished. Where decisions are made and often, where careers are quietly accelerated. But for too many women, meetings are still minefields of being interrupted, overlooked, or penalized for speaking up.
Whether it’s a weekly check-in, a boardroom strategy session, or a high-stakes Zoom call, how you show up in meetings matters, not just to your performance, but to your visibility, your influence, and your path to leadership.
Research continues to reveal a troubling gap: women speak less in meetings, are interrupted more often, and are less likely to receive credit for their ideas. It’s critical to evaluate each meeting for importance and do your homework to avoid what are often common landmines for women.
“In meetings, women are expected to be collaborative and not too assertive. But if we play small, we get passed over. If we speak up, we’re seen as aggressive. It’s a double bind — but it’s one we can learn to navigate.” – Dr. Laura Kray, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
ENOUGH!! As a competent woman, you need to contribute to the conversation and state your opinions and ideas. And if the environment, is not open to having everyone share, you need a plan so you stand out and are recognized for your leadership and insights. Your reputation depends on how you show up.
The good news?
There are concrete strategies women can use to reclaim power in these spaces.
Here are 6 ways to prepare for meetings:
1. Start Before the Meeting: Prepare Like a Leader
Powerful presence doesn’t start when the meeting begins. It starts in the prep.
Know your numbers. Know your audience. Know your goals. Come prepared with key points you want to contribute, and identify where in the agenda your voice will be most impactful.
Ask yourself:
What strategic point can I make that others might miss?
Where can I add insight, context, or a challenge that moves the discussion forward?
Who will be in the room and what are their priorities?
Tip: Create a 1-page “meeting map” (see template below) that includes:
The agenda
Key stakeholders
Your talking points
Anticipated objections
Allies in the room
When you walk in with clarity and confidence, you’re far less likely to shrink back when the conversation gets competitive.
2. Claim the Space Literally and Virtually
In person meetings: Don’t sit at the periphery or default to the “helper” role. Take a seat at the table, ideally across from the decision-maker or next to a key stakeholder. Research confirms that where you sit influences how you’re perceived and how often you’re invited into the conversation.
Online: Turn on your camera. Sit at eye level. Be animated. Use hand gestures and facial expressions. Keep your name visible. These micro-signals build credibility and connection especially when virtual fatigue is high.
Voice matters, too. A study found that vocal confidence (volume, clarity, pace) significantly affects perceived leadership. Speak with intention. Don’t trail off. And don’t ask permission to share (“This might be a dumb idea…”). Just share it!
3. Interrupt the Interrupters — Strategically
It’s frustrating and familiar: You begin to make a point, only to be cut off. Or worse, your idea is co-opted by a louder colleague.
Don’t disappear. Reclaim the floor. Try:
“I’d like to finish my thought, and then I’m happy to hear other perspectives.”
“Hold that thought, I want to complete this point first.”
“I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I’m not finished.”
These phrases are direct but not aggressive. They assert your right to speak without inviting defensiveness.
Allyship works, too. Research shows that when men advocate for women in meetings by redirecting interruptions or giving credit the woman’s idea is more likely to be acknowledged. Enlist a trusted colleague to back you up if needed.
“Men are 75% more likely to be credited for an idea a woman originally suggested. That’s not a fluke — it’s a system. And systems can be reprogrammed.” — LeanIn.org & McKinsey, Women in the Workplace 2023
4. Don’t Wait to Be Called On. Own the Agenda
One of the biggest mistakes women make in meetings is waiting to be invited into the conversation. Don’t wait for permission. Power players steer the agenda, they don’t just react to it.
Ways to insert yourself proactively:
Reference earlier points to show listening: “I want to build on what Jasmine said…”
Use transitions: “To move us forward, here’s a strategic consideration…”
Ask strategic questions: “How does this align with our larger priorities?”
Offer summary clarity: “To recap where we’re landing…”
These moves don’t just make you visible, they make you valuable.
5. Advocate for Others and Yourself
Advocating for others can raise your profile and build trust. Recognizing a colleague’s work or encouraging quieter voices to speak shows leadership. But don’t forget to shine a light on your own contributions.
If you completed a project, landed a deal, or solved a problem, bring it into the discussion:
“Our team’s approach to X has delivered a 20% increase in engagement.”
“One insight from our recent data analysis stood out…”
You’re not bragging. You’re informing the room of strategic progress and positioning yourself as someone who delivers.
“Visibility is not vanity — it’s velocity. If no one knows what you’re doing, it doesn’t matter how good you are.” — Bonnie Marcus, “The Politics of Promotion”
6. Follow Up with Influence
The meeting isn’t over when it ends. Follow up with influence:
Send a recap email highlighting next steps (and your role in them).
Offer resources or data that support the discussion.
Reinforce your idea by continuing the conversation offline with key players.
This reinforces your leadership, sharpens your reputation, and ensures your contributions aren’t forgotten once the call ends.
You Deserve to Be Heard!
The truth is: speaking up still carries more risk for women than it does for men. But silence carries greater risk. You can’t afford to be invisible in the spaces where power is brokered.
So prepare strategically. Speak deliberately. Interrupt when necessary. Follow up with intent. And above all, believe that your voice belongs at the center of the conversation, not the edge of it.
Because it does.
Thank you, Bonnie. Your insights are exceptionally valuable. While your content is primarily intended for professional women, I find your advice highly beneficial as a member of an underrepresented group. I frequently find myself as the sole person of color in meetings, and your advice and frameworks prove to be highly relevant to my experiences. I encourage you to continue sharing your knowledge and expertise!
I love this! Thank you for these valuable pointers!